Yas Island & Saadiyat Islands Abu Dhabi

On my recent visit to Dubai between 7th to 22nd March '10, I stayed on Yas Island for ten days, on work.

Yas is a man made island, by bringing the sea into land and creating a marina with a Formula one race track, an 18 hole gold course, Ferrari Park and about half-a-dozen world class hotels on it.

Our visit here was totally work related and it was ideal to stay on this island, as it was in the middle of both the work places we were involved with, in Shahama and Abu Dhabi city.

Radisson Blu Hotel
My friend Mike and I stayed at the Radisson Blu hotel. My room was on the 4th floor (448) with a fantastic view of the most popular Yas Hotel. The staff in this hotel are extremely friendly and highly efficient. The restaurants in this hotel are better than some of the others on the island. Assymetri the breakfast place which also has a lunch and dinner buffet is a good place to dine. The seafood grill at the dinner buffet is great. For fast food junkies, the beef burger is a 'must try'.

The Italian restaurant Filini was a dissappointment. The Iranian restaurant is yet to open, however having met the chef of the to-be-opened restaurant, I am sure its going to be a great place. The sports bar is not fully ready, so we had to do good with the poolside bar.

The gym is a surprise. The equipment is more than adequate even for the best of body builders. The spa is a place to go. I was attended to by a Fijian masseuer who is just great.

Yas Hotel
Its popularity comes fom the fact that it is situated bang in the middle of the Formula one race track and a small strectch of the race track passes from under the hotel.

When I first visited Yas hotel late last year I was struck by its achitecture and the modern materials that went into building this beautiful structure. It is truly a piece of art.

On this visit we tried the Atayeb Arabic restaurant, which has a terrace overlooking the Yas Marina and the Marina Circuit. The food is just great. Wine selection is even better. The poolside bar on the roof of the hotel is very quiet and serene.

Crowne Plaza
This hotel has a very unusual lobby with two octagonal shaped sitting areas hanging from the roof. It is a put-off to walk into it, just at the entrance of the hotel. The Arabic restaurant is average.

Rotana Yas Island
The reception in this hotel has a bright orange interiors and seems very informal. The 'Y' bar is a good place for a drink. The music during weekends in a bit loud. The 'blue grill' restaurant serves great food but its a bit pricey. Rangoli has a very small menu but the items are well chosen. The restaurant 'Choices' is definetely a must try place. Its really good.

This hotel also has an aprtment block called 'Centro' for long haul guests.

The Links Golf Course
We met the Sales manager Nick who took us on a tour of the club house. From the terrace on level 3 of the club house the 18 hole golf course looks just superb. The water in the marina is lagoon blue and during high tides all the little shrubs around the course go under water. This is going to be a very famous golf course in time to come.

Ferrari Theme Park
Its still under construction. However the outer shell shaped as a F1 car of Ferrari is magnificient. It is slated to be ready for this year's F1 race.

Saadiyat Island
This is going to be the greatest man-made wonder since Palm islands in Dubai. This is even bigger. Palm was reclamation of the Arabian gulf. Saadiyat is reclamation of land by the Arabian gulf.

We had a tour of all the structures that are going to be erected on this island. All details must be available on their website. Do look up.

Overview
As I had a car to drive around, it was really easy for us to get in and get out of the island. Without a car this island is good for guests who would liketo stay on the island and not move in and out frequently.

My Trip to Haridwar & Rishikesh

Feb 21st, 2010

We left Delhi by car via Ghaziabad, ModiNagar, Meerut, Muzzafar Nagar, Rourkee and then to Haridwar. We arrived in Haridwar at 10.30 am after a 4 hour drive including a breakfast stop at Cheetal Resorts before Muzzafarpur Bypass road. This is a good place to stop for rest and food. They have some very interesting sign boards inside the premises.

This is the time of khumb Mela and the traffic was quite busy between Rourkee and Haridwar. We stopped for a few minutes at the Patanjali Yogapeeth Ashram of Baba Ramdev. Impressive place.

We then went to Khankal to see the only Lingam in the country made of Mercury. It was at the Harihar Ashram where a Rudraksha Tree is also there. Under that tree are the 12 Jyothirlingas. Abhishek at this Mercury Lingam is only allowed on Shivarathri day.

We went to Har-ki-Pawdi and had a dip in the Ganges. The water is very cold right round the year. On a previous occassion I was there in August and the water was equally chilled.

Around 3pm we made our way to Rishikesh. It is indeed a beautiful place and the River Ganga is stunningly beautiful. We visited Sivananda Ashram and spent a few hours there. We were told the 6pm Ganga Aarthi is a sight to watch. However, we were involved in a meeting with a few swamis. We decide to go back there in April / May to spend a week and then visit Neelkant, Gangotri and Badrinath. Came back to Haridwar at around 7.30pm.

We also happened to visit an Ashram of an Aghori Baba near Haridwar, who offered to perform Yagna and then take us to the cremation grounds. We just didn't have time as we were heading back to Delhi. Very interesting person to talk to.

Went to Veer Bhadra Mandir near Bairaj colony. I think its actually Barrage Colony named after the barrage that came up close to that area.

Left Haridwar at 11pm after attending a wedding reception in Khankal.